The United Nations ("U.N.") was
established on 24 October 1945 by 51 countries committed to preserving peace
through international cooperation and collective security. Today, nearly every
nation in the world belongs to the UN: membership now totals 189 countries.
When States become Members of the United Nations, they agree to accept the
obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty which sets out basic
principles of international relations. According to the Charter, the UN has
four purposes: to maintain international peace and security, to develop
friendly relations among nations, to cooperate in solving international
problems and in promoting respect for human rights, and to be a centre for
harmonizing the actions of nations. UN Members are sovereign countries.
The United Nations is not a world government, and it does not make laws. It
does, however, provide the means to help resolve international conflict and
formulate policies on matters affecting all of us. At the UN, all the Member
States - large and small, rich and poor, with differing political views and
social systems - have a voice and vote in this process. The United
Nations has six main organs. Five of them - the General Assembly, the Security
Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the
Secretariat - are based at UN Headquarters in New York. The sixth, the
International Court of Justice, is located at The Hague, the Netherlands.
For more information: http://www.un.org